Pre-op diet is a b***h

[MauiGirl5555 38]

@@Miss Mac

Thank you. There is no way to know if my liver is large.....he didnt do any tests to determine anything about my liver. I will try to talk to the coordinator to see if other patients are put to the same test or if he is just asking me to do this. It makes no sense to me. I dont believe I could last an entire month without cheating with some meals here and there.....which makes me question my inner strength ....

I feel like this journey is like a long battle against my current ways of thinking and acting...and I will need to battle through it all to retrain my brain and find a new normal.....it doesnt help that I feel defeated before I have even gotten to the starting line.

I know that so many other people have made it through this battle to the other side and that does give me strength b/c I think if so many others found desire and drive to battle through then I should be able to also.....it is just so much easier said than done....

Thanks for listening. Aloha.

[NCTRNL 25]

@@Miss Mac

Thank you. There is no way to know if my liver is large.....he didnt do any tests to determine anything about my liver. I will try to talk to the coordinator to see if other patients are put to the same test or if he is just asking me to do this. It makes no sense to me. I dont believe I could last an entire month without cheating with some meals here and there.....which makes me question my inner strength ....

I feel like this journey is like a long battle against my current ways of thinking and acting...and I will need to battle through it all to retrain my brain and find a new normal.....it doesnt help that I feel defeated before I have even gotten to the starting line.

I know that so many other people have made it through this battle to the other side and that does give me strength b/c I think if so many others found desire and drive to battle through then I should be able to also.....it is just so much easier said than done....

Thanks for listening. Aloha.

No one's doctor has run any tests on their liver. It is a scientific fact that if you are obese, your liver is larger and fattier than a normal BMI person. Add this to the fact that the liver sits right on top of the stomach and it has to be held out of the way during the procedure and the diet to shrink it makes sense. Any help you can give the surgeon so that he does not have a higher risk of puncturing or damaging the liver during surgery is the least we can do. The liver is very fragile. 99% of us have to do it before our surgery. I will say the diet also has made me realize how real this struggle will be. This is equal parts behavior modification and correcting the foods I eat. If you can't follow this pre-op diet, how are you going to follow the equally restrictive post-op diet?

[MauiGirl5555 38]

@@NCTRNL Thank you for your response. I know my liver must be large...my comment on liver testing was in response to a previous question asking if my liver was exceptionally large.....my gripe is not with the pre-op liquid diet....my gripe is the fact that my DR is telling me it has to be 1 month long when it seems the average is between 1 week to 2 weeks long.

The post op liquid diet to me wont be near as challenging as the pre-op diet. During the post op diet my stomach will be much smaller.....and with the swelling of my stomach it will be filling enough to sip Water and Protein Shakes.

[ValerieDee1975 55]

No one's doctor has run any tests on their liver. It is a scientific fact that if you are obese, your liver is larger and fattier than a normal BMI person. Add this to the fact that the liver sits right on top of the stomach and it has to be held out of the way during the procedure and the diet to shrink it makes sense. Any help you can give the surgeon so that he does not have a higher risk of puncturing or damaging the liver during surgery is the least we can do. The liver is very fragile. 99% of us have to do it before our surgery. I will say the diet also has made me realize how real this struggle will be. This is equal parts behavior modification and correcting the foods I eat. If you can't follow this pre-op diet, how are you going to follow the equally restrictive post-op diet?

@@Miss Mac

Thank you. There is no way to know if my liver is large.....he didnt do any tests to determine anything about my liver. I will try to talk to the coordinator to see if other patients are put to the same test or if he is just asking me to do this. It makes no sense to me. I dont believe I could last an entire month without cheating with some meals here and there.....which makes me question my inner strength ....

I feel like this journey is like a long battle against my current ways of thinking and acting...and I will need to battle through it all to retrain my brain and find a new normal.....it doesnt help that I feel defeated before I have even gotten to the starting line.

I know that so many other people have made it through this battle to the other side and that does give me strength b/c I think if so many others found desire and drive to battle through then I should be able to also.....it is just so much easier said than done....

Thanks for listening. Aloha.

Just an FYI about larger livers...the diet preop is supposed to shrink it....even after a 2 week diet, my doc nicked mine and it bled some...she wasn't worried about it, it stopped soon after said I just might have a little more pain in that area...I haven't...but it still could have been worse

[GutBgone 16]

@@Miss Mac

Thank you. There is no way to know if my liver is large.....he didnt do any tests to determine anything about my liver.

Didn't you have an ultrasound? That's how they determined mine. The tech actually measured it on-screen.

[GutBgone 16]

The post op liquid diet to me wont be near as challenging as the pre-op diet. During the post op diet my stomach will be much smaller.....and with the swelling of my stomach it will be filling enough to sip Water and Protein Shakes.< /p>

To be perfectly frank, you're going to have trouble eating and drinking enough, so it will be challenging in the exact opposite way.

I'm 18 days post op and I can eat a total of two Swedish meatballs or 1/3 of a hamburger patty, or the equivalent volume of chicken of 2 chicken mc nuggets (grilled chicken, not fried)

I'm struggling to drink 48 oz of fluids, when 100-120oz was my norm before.

Edited May 21, 2015 by GutBgone

[NCTRNL 25]

Wow yeah I did not have an ultrasound for my liver. Guess it's just a no brainer anymore.

[megan143 6]

No one's doctor has run any tests on their liver. It is a scientific fact that if you are obese, your liver is larger and fattier than a normal BMI person. Add this to the fact that the liver sits right on top of the stomach and it has to be held out of the way during the procedure and the diet to shrink it makes sense. Any help you can give the surgeon so that he does not have a higher risk of puncturing or damaging the liver during surgery is the least we can do. The liver is very fragile. 99% of us have to do it before our surgery. I will say the diet also has made me realize how real this struggle will be. This is equal parts behavior modification and correcting the foods I eat. If you can't follow this pre-op diet, how are you going to follow the equally restrictive post-op diet?

@@Miss Mac

Thank you. There is no way to know if my liver is large.....he didnt do any tests to determine anything about my liver. I will try to talk to the coordinator to see if other patients are put to the same test or if he is just asking me to do this. It makes no sense to me. I dont believe I could last an entire month without cheating with some meals here and there.....which makes me question my inner strength ....

I feel like this journey is like a long battle against my current ways of thinking and acting...and I will need to battle through it all to retrain my brain and find a new normal.....it doesnt help that I feel defeated before I have even gotten to the starting line.

I know that so many other people have made it through this battle to the other side and that does give me strength b/c I think if so many others found desire and drive to battle through then I should be able to also.....it is just so much easier said than done....

Thanks for listening. Aloha.

THIS!!! Now that I'm not eating all the time I'm reflecting on everything. I'm actually happy to be on this all Protein Shake preop diet because it really does start preparing you mentally for what to expect after the surgery. In all honesty I've taken in 800-1000 calories and anywhere from 80g-130g of Protein these past 3 days and I am not PHYSICALLY hungry. Mental hunger on the other hand... I understand what people are talking about when they say head hunger and how much of a mental/emotional challenge this is. I'm really glad I'm tackling it now versus after surgery when my body will be stressed as well. Any good book recommendations for overcoming these mental/emotional issues?

So folks, day 4 of 14 and still going strong. Love synthrax nectar Proteins, ProtiDiet fruit drink and WonderSlim pudding/shake mixes. Just placed an order for some protein Soups, will keep ya'll posted. Stay strong and keep on drinking!

[Sutter Phoenix 3]

I started yesterday. Yeah, it's a bear. Part of my issue is that Unjury has a smell I really don't like (oddly, it doesn't turn up in the taste for me - just the smell). On the bright side, I somehow dropped 4 pounds yesterday! (I know that won't be a sustainable rate, and Water weight, and all that, but still pretty cool.)

Good luck to all! Keep your eyes on the prize. Our lives are going to be so much better!

[megan143 6]

I started yesterday. Yeah, it's a bear. Part of my issue is that Unjury has a smell I really don't like (oddly, it doesn't turn up in the taste for me - just the smell). On the bright side, I somehow dropped 4 pounds yesterday! (I know that won't be a sustainable rate, and Water weight, and all that, but still pretty cool.)

Good luck to all! Keep your eyes on the prize. Our lives are going to be so much better!

Do you have to use Unjury?

[MauiGirl5555 38]

@@GutBgone Good luck with your journey. Hopefully each day will get better. I think not being able to easily drink Water will be an adjustment. Living in Maui where it is warm all year long I constantly drink water. It will be odd not to gulp down 1/2 a bottle in 5 seconds.

@@Sutter Phoenix @@megan143 I really like the Unjury chocolate drink....I couldnt handle the smell of the unflavoured Unjury. I did find GENEPRO Protein to have no taste and no smell. I was able to get a few sample packets for a few dollars so I could test it out before I ordered the big package.

Good Luck Everyone.

[GutBgone 16]

@@GutBgone Good luck with your journey. Hopefully each day will get better. I think not being able to easily drink Water will be an adjustment. Living in Maui where it is warm all year long I constantly drink water. It will be odd not to gulp down 1/2 a bottle in 5 seconds.

Oh there's a simple solution for that, lol. 8 oz bottles of water. You get the same psychological boost of downing it, they're easier to carry, and that's about all you can handle at a time anyway.

I reuse plastic bottles. I live in NYC, so we have really good tap water. I refill bottles from the tap for about a week and then recycle them, because the plastic will start to dissolve.

And yeah, I'm used to drinking half a dozen crystal light drinks a day - 20oz each.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

@@GutBgone Good luck with your journey. Hopefully each day will get better. I think not being able to easily drink Water will be an adjustment. Living in Maui where it is warm all year long I constantly drink water. It will be odd not to gulp down 1/2 a bottle in 5 seconds.

You may get to the point where you can chug water again. I had a LOT of issues with drinking immediately post-op and struggled to get all my water in for the first couple of months. But now I have no trouble chugging water (almost 9 months post-op) as long as it is ICE cold and as long as I haven't eaten in the last 45 minutes to an hour.

[GutBgone 16]

Well I'm up to about 55 oz per day now, but more than a mouthful hurts.

I can't handle cold anymore and oddly, I can't stand the taste of crystal light anymore. I used to drink about 120 oz per day of it.

[jadama22 110]

I have to say - the pre-op diet is really hard. I hate the taste of my shake - chocolate flavored Bariatric Advantage - it taste awful. I probably only get 8-10 oz of it in a day - I try to drink as much Water as I can, but I'm not much of a water drinker, but I really try knowing that getting dehydrated will not fare well. What I like is the OIKOS vanilla yogurt, sugar free Jello and Popsicles, but at this rate I'm starting to feel a bit weak and my energy levels are low.

With 7 days til surgery day - my head hunger is killing me.

Trying to survive - hopefully I will make it.